Since 2010 the LCIE has had the official status of a Specialist Group within the Species Survival Commission (SSC) of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

The LCIE views itself as a node (or hub) in the centre of an expert network that covers a wide range of activity. The LCIE therefore overlaps with many activities for which it can only claim partial credit. These include many of the conservation and / or research projects that group members and associated partners work with. In addition, will come some projects or specific products that are completely produced under the LCIE umbrella. This will embrace various once-off activities such as guidelines for good conservation practice, letters written, workshops held, position statements developed etc. Finally, our ambition is to contribute to providing the inspiration, methodology, vision and initiation to a wider group of activities conducted by conservationists, managers and researchers throughout Europe, and the rest of the world.

The LCIE has 3 types of product:

Coordination and networking between projects run by LCIE group members and partners.

Some specific LCIE working projects and products.

Inspiration and guidance to the wider conservation community.

For all these activities our goal is to provide a technical platform of scientific and experience based expertise that the whole conservation community can draw on to help conserve large carnivores in Europe

Information about the IUCN's Species Survial Commission is available here.